Lock Repair in Miami, FL

What Miami's climate does to locks

NOAA describes Florida as the most humid state in the nation, and hurricane-force winds reach it an average of three times every five years. Locks feel that in a few predictable ways:

• Corrosion. Humidity and, near the coast, salt spray can corrode exposed hardware such as cylinders and latches. A key that turns stiffly or a latch that stops halfway may be corrosion rather than a broken part.
• Binding after rain. A deadbolt that starts to drag after heavy rain can point to a swollen door or a shifted strike plate. Adjusting the door or the strike may fix it without new hardware.
• Storm exposure. A lock that sat in floodwater should be checked for corrosion, and repair or replacement may follow.

Older hardware worth keeping running

Lummus Park mixes mostly pre-1926 houses and apartment buildings, and Beverly Terrace on Biscayne Boulevard is known for its 1925 Mediterranean Revival apartment buildings. Hardware in buildings that old may be original or an early replacement, and an exact match can be hard to find. Ask whether a worn spring, a loose spindle or a sagging lever can be repaired before you choose a new lock, since keeping the original lock in service is sometimes possible.

Simple upkeep

• Use the lubricant the lock's maker recommends. Household oil collects grit and can make a stiff cylinder worse.
• After heavy weather, work each lock once with its key and note anything that feels different before it fails.
• Treat a lock that binds only in wet weather as a clue about the door, not proof that the lock is failing.

What to send

Describe what the lock does wrong (sticks, will not latch, key turns hard), say whether the trouble began after rain or a storm, and add photos of both faces of the lock and the edge of the door. If a lock is past saving, see lock replacement. For the wider picture of the city's homes, start from the Miami page.